


something right in front of you

by charjace



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Coming Out, From Eddie's Mother, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, Slight Past Internalised Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 19:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21379336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charjace/pseuds/charjace
Summary: eddie for years has been oblivious about richie's blatant flirting, that is until he realises something within himself - which makes him rethink all those pet names richie calls him
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 1
Kudos: 105





	something right in front of you

The hood of the car was up as he peered into the engine of the vehicle. His fingers were blackened by the grease and oil, his fingers were working so delicately with engine as he fixed the issue Stan was having with his car. Removing himself from under the hood and putting it down, Eddie steps back and motions for Stan to turn the key, both smiling when it sounds so much better then it had been before Eddie started to work on it. Stan cuts the engine and climbs out of his car, closing the door behind him. The pair head inside the house that they share with a few of their friends. 

Walking in, Eddie takes note of Ben and Beverly curled up on the couch watching a movie, it was peaceful Richie came barging in the door, not even knocking followed by Mike and Bill, who were shaking their heads as they held the take out bags. It was a thing of theirs that they had started when they were in high school, the group would every Saturday night spend the night together. Whether it was to the movies, a sleepover at one of the other Loser’s houses - just something and it’s followed them to this day. They’re twenty six years old, and they’re still doing it.

Stan follows Bill and Mike as they go into the kitchen to sort out the food and drinks, Bev pauses the movie and sits up, smiling at the new comers. Eddie goes to the bathroom to clean himself up from the grease that was on his hands, he changes his shirt and walks back out to find everyone sitting, with a movie ready to be played in the DVD player. There was a spare seat next to Richie in which he placed himself and Richie gave him his plate of food.

They watched the movie and talked all night long, Eddie was the first one to crash out, falling asleep on Richie’s shoulder. Bev was quick to take a picture before Richie picked Eddie up and taking him to his bed. It wasn’t long before everyone else decided it was time to go to sleep as well.

It was six in the morning when his phone went off, his alarm telling him it was time to get up. Waking up with Richie’s arms around him wasn’t a new thing for him, it happened most of their special nights because he and Richie almost always ended up in the same bed, not that Eddie minded. A groan comes from his side, and Richie hits the side of his face, “Go back to sleep Eds,” He says, his voice sounding full of sleep like he was trying to keep himself asleep while telling Eddie to go back to sleep.

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie replies as he climbs out of the bed, a soft smile on his face as he goes to his drawers and fishes out his running gear. He always goes on a run in the mornings, and has ever since he had made track in school. It helps him to remind himself of things he thought were to be true, and how they’re false. “You can stay here, or if you’d like, you can join me on my run.”

“That’s cute, my love,” Richie’s sleepy voice retorts before he rolls over and puts his face in the pillow that Eddie had not long ago been using.

Usually, when Richie _says_ that stuff it doesn’t tend to make Eddie feel anything other then being annoyed. It was just Richie being _Richie_, that he never thought much about it. But, recently he’s been thinking too much about all the things - especially the things that Richie says, the things he says to _him_. ‘Cute’ “You’re so _cute _Eds’ ‘My love, Eddie my love’ ‘Babe’, they were just Richie things right? That is what he has been telling himself for as long as they’ve been friends yet last month, Eddie was drunk and he had called Richie up to pick him up, and _god_ Richie had done it in a heartbeat and it got Eddie thinking about his own feelings. 

He for the **longest** of times thought he liked girls, yet, no. He doesn’t think he ever did. He had just thought he _had_ too. ‘_Boys don’t like boys Eddie Bear’ _his mother’s voice echoed in his voice, and he hates it when her voice enters his mind - it makes him feel like that _child_ again. ‘_It’s not right Eddie, you don’t like a boy right Eddie?’_ All he had asked, was if boys can kiss boys - it had got his mother going about how it wasn’t _right_. ‘_Kissing is for a boy and a girl, not boys and boys Eddie-Bear’._

Coming in from his run, he gets himself a drink of water before heading to his room. His heart sinking a little when he see’s Richie wasn’t there anymore. Not letting it get to him, he picks out his clothes for the day before taking a shower preparing for the rest of the day.

Out in a cafe with Bill, the two where having lunch and Eddie was fidgeting just a little. His fingers running over, and over the rim of the cup that was half drunken. Bill noticed this behaviour, tilted is head a little - stopping the conversation they were having before in favour of asking Eddie was was wrong.

“Nothing is wrong Bill,” Eddie says, and he doesn’t have to look to know that Bill doesn’t believe him, but Eddie is already looking at Bill. He _knows_ that look, and gives out a small sigh. This wasn’t _how_ he planned to do it, hell he doesn’t think he was ever going to plan it, or do it. He could go on faking a lot of things, and they wouldn’t have to know a thing about it. 

“Eddie?” Bill’s voice was laced with a lot of concern for his friend, he reaches a hand over and holds Eddie’s into his own. “Hey, it’s okay. Take your time.”

Eddie’s face is scrunching up as he tries to think of how he was to word this, his mother’s voice yelling at him to not say it because then it’s_ real_ and he can’t take it back. But, Bill’s voice of saying it was okay, that was enough because he _knows _Bill could never hate him, Bill was his first ever real friend and they’re still friends to this day. would what he had to say tear all those years?

It’s been quiet for a few minutes, Bill was still holding Eddie’s hands - as if to say, _I’m not going anywhere_. That makes his mother’s voice in his head die down more, “Bill... I...” Looking into Bill’s eyes, he see’s the encouragement and the undying support in those eyes. Eddie’s voice drops down to a quiet voice as he speaks the words he’s finally found within himself, “I’m... I’m gay.”

The smile that Bill gives Eddie is a pleasant sight to see, and a huge sense of relief floods him. “Awesome, have you told the others yet?” Eddie shakes his head, “Cool, when you want too, know I’ll be there if you want me too.”

“Thank you Billy,” Eddie says, pulling his hands away from Bill’s to take a sip from his drink. 

A few weeks have gone by, and he’s opened up to Stan, Beverly and Ben one night over their flat meal. He told Mike while Mike helped him out with a car at the shop he was working at. The person he still needed to tell was_ Richie_, but he needed to say _more_ and that is what is scaring him. Losing Richie over something as _small_ as a crush ( that’s what he tells himself it is, it’s just a crush ; that he hasn’t been in love with Richie since they were kids ).

Right now, Richie was laying on his bed reading the draft of Bill’s new book, while Eddie was watching video’s on his phone laying in the opposite direction on his back, his foot tapping against Richie’s arm. A small laugh escaping Eddie’s lips when the clip was funny. He feels Richie grab hold of his foot, “Babe, stop that, I’m trying to read.”

Eddie does stop it, for a few minutes before it happens again - he doesn’t have control over it. Not this absentminded kind, it’s not like the time he deliberately put his foot in Richie’s face when they were kids that one time. Without notice, Richie was softly taking Eddie’s headphones out of his ears, “I know you can hear me Eds,” He says removing Eddie’s phone from his hand.

“My name isn’t _Eds,”_ Eddie easily retorts back, but a few seconds later, he feel’s Richie’s weight on his back, “RICHIE! GET OFF OF ME!”

“Will you stop tapping me with your foot?” Richie questions, wiggling in his spot causing Eddie to groan.

“YES! I’ll stop!”

“Then Eddie my love, you are free to go,” Richie is off of Eddie in a matter of seconds and Eddie rolls himself so that he is now staring at the ceiling.

His eyes were trained on the ceiling as he thinks, he’s thinking about those _names_ again. The pet names, that Richie calls him constantly, trying to think if he calls any of their other friends that? Babe? Only Bev, and that isn’t as often anymore, but Eddie has noticed that - it’s picked up with him calling _Eddie_ that. He’s over thinking this again, and he wasn’t aware that he started tapping his foot against Richie again until the other was on top of him. Richie’s hands right by Eddie’s head

Eddie covered his face as he let out a yelp because it was all so sudden, pulling his hands away from his face - he wishes he hadn’t because Richie was _so close_, close enough that if Eddie reached up he could easily pull Richie down into a -, he stops that thought right there. His heart was hammering against his chest, his mind going so many miles a minute - faster then his own mouth can do.

“E-”

“I’m _gay_,” The words just blurted out of his mouth, he hadn’t meant for them to come out like that, for him to tell Richie like this. But, god Richie was just right on top of him, and at least it was better then blurting out _I love you_. 

Above him, Richie had stiffened and Eddie’s mind was going to the worst place possible. Thinking that Richie hated him, and how how Eddie was now wishing he could take back those words. Wishes that there was a rewind button that he can press and it’s take them back to a time where he hadn’t just told Richie he was _gay_.

“Richie I -” Eddie was cut short when Richie spoke, “Me too.”

“Huh?” Eddie was confused by what Richie meant by that, his face scrunching up in a confused way.

Richie laughed a little, “You’re so _cute_ Eddie when you’re confused. Your face just scrunches up in this very cute way. You do it when you read too much, so _cute_.”

“What?”

“Eddie my _love_, I’m gay too _and_ I’ve been flirting with you for years,” Richie says, a laugh still lacing his voice, a smile at the corner of his lips as he watches as the emotions go through Eddie’s face.

“Y-You have?” But that is all he really wants to say on that, because right _now_ he wants to grab hold of Richie’s face and kiss him, and that is what he does. Bringing Richie’s face close to his, so that their lips meet in a nice soft kiss. A kiss that is so many years overdue to be had. Pulling away, Eddie says without any fear, “I love you Trashmouth.”

“I love you Eds,” Richie replies before leaning in to kiss Eddie again, before Eddie can make any comment about the use of the nickname _Eds_.

**Author's Note:**

> this is what i do when i should be writing out the piece for the runaway au, anyway hope it was alright!


End file.
